Tag Archives: mississippi baseball

08 May

a season to celebrate

This month marks the 25th anniversary of a very special occasion in the state’s baseball history. In May of 1989, Hinds Community College became the first Mississippi school to reach the Junior College World Series. But the story runs much deeper than just that fact. The 1989 season was the first since the merger of the predominantly white Raymond campus with the predominantly black Utica campus. The athletic programs also merged and were split up between the two campuses. Raymond got baseball. Hinds’ Rick Clarke remained the head coach, with Utica’s George McQuitter becoming his assistant. The players, heated rivals in 1988, were thrown into a blender. “It was a very, very difficult transition,” Clarke told The (Jackson) Clarion-Ledger years later. But a funny thing happened amid the tumult: The team started winning. Terre Woods, a former Utica player, had a monster season with the bat. Jeff Long, a Raymond player in 1988, set a team record for runs. Doug Thomas hit 16 homers. Mark Anders won 11 games and saved nine more. The Eagles rolled to an MACJC division championship, then claimed the state title, then the region and finally the district, which sent them on to the nationals at Grand Junction, Colo. They didn’t bring home a national crown, but they did blaze a trail to the Juco World Series that many Mississippi schools would follow. And, really, the ’89 Eagles did a lot more than that, taking a tough situation and turning it into something we can applaud 25 years later.

07 May

on the macjc menu

The appetizer at noon on Thursday features Hinds Community College, seeking an eighth state championship, and East Central, the defending state champion but an upstart in this postseason. The main course, served up at 4 at White Field in Booneville, will be Jones County JC, the No. 1 team in NJCAA Division II, and host Northeast, riding a wave of momentum after a dramatic playoff series win over Pearl River (see previous post). Hinds (29-16) is led by Matt Jones, a former Madison Central High star, and Casey Sutton, who swept the MACJC weekly awards after their performances in the playoff series against Northwest. Jones, 4-for-8 with two home runs against the Rangers, is batting .354 with six homers, 32 RBIs and 32 runs. Sutton is 6-2 with a 3.82 ERA after tossing a three-hit complete game vs. Northwest. The Eagles face an East Central team coming off a stunning upset of North Division champ East Mississippi. Neal Holliman’s Warriors (23-25) are led by sluggers John Morgan Berry and Maxwell Harmon and pitcher Ty Hendrix, who stymied East Mississippi in Game 3 last Saturday. From all indications, Jones County is loaded. Chase Hensley is hitting .408, Tyler Graves .377 and Trent Giambrone .373 with 36 RBIs and 48 runs. Westin Stringer, the former Terry High star, is 10-2 with a 1.76 ERA. But Northeast (27-18), playing at home, could be a real threat. Brandon High product Trent Turner is batting .431 with seven homers and 47 RBIs. Heath Wood is at .372 (and has 98 career hits), and catcher Riley Alef is a defensive stalwart. P.S. Three teams from this double-elimination event (the 0-2 team is done) will advance, along with second-ranked LSU-Eunice, to the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament next week. If Northeast is still around, it will host again. Otherwise, it’ll be JCJC.

06 May

encore, encore

Ross Mitchell, Mississippi State’s junior left-hander, set a high standard for himself in 2013. He went 13-0 and posted a 1.53 ERA in 94 innings, all out of the bullpen for the national runner-up. He made several All-America teams. Mitchell’s encore in 2014, if not as spectacular as last year, has been pretty darn good. He is 7-4 for the 31-18 Bulldogs, with a 2.12 ERA in an SEC-leading 89 1/3 innings. He has made eight starts and won five of them since moving from the pen. Mitchell beat Auburn on Saturday with his first career complete game shutout, part of State’s sweep on The Plains. On Monday, the Tennessee native was named co-pitcher of the week in the SEC, the third time in 2014 he has received that honor. Mitchell is the definition of the crafty lefty: only 42 strikeouts this season but a .220 opponent batting average and just 22 walks. He figured to be a key player for the Bulldogs this season, and that he certainly has been for a team headed back to the NCAA postseason.

05 May

dust begins to settle

Jones County Junior College’s path to a state championship might have cleared a bit over the weekend. The top-ranked Bobcats rolled past Holmes to reach the MACJC Tournament, and they won’t have to face North Division champion East Mississippi in that four-team affair. The Lions, ranked eighth in NJCAA Division II, were upset in their best-of-3 series by South 4-seed East Central, which makes the final four with a 22-25 record. Hinds and Northeast also advanced. Northeast, as the highest surviving North seed, will host the tournament in Booneville starting on Thursday. Northeast won a three-game slugfest with Pearl River, taking Game 3 12-11 on Saturday. The Tigers blew a 7-0 lead, went up 12-9 on Easton Hall’s three-run homer in the eighth, then held on for dear life in the ninth. “It wasn’t pretty, but we’re on the dance floor,” Northeast coach Kent Farris said. ECCC’s upset of East Mississippi was fueled by two six-run innings in Saturday’s rubber game, a 12-3 Warriors win. John Morgan Berry had a big homer for the defending state champs. The bigger deal for the jucos is next week’s Region 23 Tournament. P.S. Delta State is 3-0 in the Gulf South Conference Tournament and has clinched a berth in the championship round, according to a school release. … Belhaven University will find out later this week what teams are coming to Smith-Wills Stadium for next week’s NAIA opening round tournament. … Mississippi College’s season is over. The Choctaws finished 21-19, apparently not good enough for an NCCAA regional berth. MC joins Millsaps, William Carey, Blue Mountain, Tougaloo and Rust on the sidelines.

03 May

rise and shine

Jackson State needed a hero on Friday. Desmond Russell came through. The Bahamas native threw a complete game, with 14 strikeouts, and went 2-for-3 at the plate as the Tigers beat Alcorn State 9-3 at Braddy Field. Russell is 7-4 for JSU, now 27-21 overall and 9-13 in the SWAC East, in a virtual tie for third with the Braves (8-12). JSU, the defending league champ, has lost five straight SWAC series, including a rather embarrassing pratfall against hapless Mississippi Valley State. The Tigers need to get it in gear with the SWAC Tournament approaching. Other stars from a fun-filled Friday: Westin Stringer won his 10th game as No. 1-ranked Jones County Junior College beat Holmes 12-2 in the MACJC playoffs. … Chance Whitten delivered a decisive two-run double as East Central upset North Division champion East Mississippi 4-3 in the opener of that three-game series. LaDarious Clark homered for the Lions. … Jonathan Andrews drove in four runs to lead Delta State past Christian Brothers 15-2 in the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. … Chris Ellis improved to 7-0 as Ole Miss beat Arkansas 3-2. … Conor Fisk won his fifth game and Connor Barron homered as Southern Miss topped Tulane 4-2. … C.T. Bradford hit his first homer and Jonathan Holder notched his sixth save as Mississippi State beat Auburn 3-0. … In MLB, former MSU and Meridian CC star Tyler Moore hit his second homer — off former MCC standout Cliff Lee — to help Washington beat Philadelphia 5-3. … Itawamba CC product Desmond Jennings belted his third homer and stole two bases as Tampa Bay knocked off the New York Yankees 10-5 in 14 innings.

27 Apr

kings of swing

Nomination for Understatement of the Year, College Edition: “We swung the bats well today.” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco made that comment today moments after the No. 12 Rebels produced 17 hits and beat nationally ranked Kentucky 18-5 in Lexington. Yes, 17 hits and 18 runs qualifies as swinging the bats well. Auston Bousfield, having an amazing season, went 5-for-6 with a home run, six RBIs and three runs. For the year, the junior from Florida is at .363 with five homers, 34 RBIs and 38 runs. The Rebels got three more homers in today’s win, from Will Allen, J.B. Woodman and Sikes Orvis. Orvis homered for the second straight day and now has 11 bombs for the year. Yes, the Rebels also swung the bats well on Friday, getting 15 hits in a 12-4 victory. They are 32-12, 12-8 SEC, heading into Sunday’s series finale. Chances are they’ll swing the bats well again. P.S. Former Ole Miss star Seth Smith, now with the San Diego Padres, missed a second straight game today because of a groin injury. Smith has been swinging the bat well, so to speak, hitting .313 over his last 10 games before the injury. He’s at .277 for the year. Smith homered in his first at-bat as a Padre back on March 31 but has hit just one since.

25 Apr

welcome home — sorta

Delta State is finally playing at home again, but the Statesmen can’t get too comfortable. Greeting DSU today in its first game at Ferriss Field in Cleveland since April 5 is West Florida, the No. 4 team in the country in NCAA Division II and the No. 1 team in the Gulf South Conference standings. DSU is seventh in the Collegiate Baseball poll and second in the GSC, a game back of West Florida. This three-game series (single game today at 6 p.m, doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.) will decide the regular season title. The Statesmen lead the all-time series 25-23. Yes, this should be good. DSU (32-9, 21-5 GSC) went 8-2 (with one cancellation) on its extended road trip. The Statesmen are 13-3 at Ferriss Field. They feature five of the top 10 hitters in the league, led by Will Robertson, No. 2 at .392. And their pitching is pretty good, too. P.S. William Carey qualified for next week’s Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament with a 12-7 win at Bethel on Thursday. J.C. Cassidy led Carey with a 4-for-4 effort, including a home run and four RBIs. The Crusaders are 30-23, 16-12 SSAC.

23 Apr

ready or not

In a much different position than it was in a year ago, Millsaps College starts postseason play on Friday. The fourth-seeded Majors (21-16 after scoring 27 runs in a two-game sweep at Oglethorpe over the weekend) play 5-seed Hendrix in one of the two four-team pods in the Southern Athletic Association Tournament. Also in Millsaps’ bracket are No. 1 seed (and pod host) Birmingham-Southern and 8-seed Sewanee. The survivors from the double-elimination pods meet in a best-of-3 series for the conference title. Millsaps won both the regular season and postseason championships in 2013 en route to the NCAA Division III World Series. Keith Shumaker beat Birmingham-Southern in the title clincher at Twenty Field last May. The preseason All-American is still around, sporting a 5-1, 2.39 pitching ledger and a .344 batting average. But Shumaker and the Majors have their work cut out for them in their quest to repeat as league champs and return to the D-III regionals.

23 Apr

blazing a trail

Belhaven University’s 2-1 win Tuesday over Mississippi College, which wrapped up the Maloney Trophy for the Blazers, was punctuated by yet another Tyler Akins save. Here are the key numbers on the impressive season being registered by the senior from Madison: 17-for-17 on save opportunities; 0.92 ERA; 36 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings; .351 batting average; and a team-leading three home runs and 43 RBIs. Sounds like Ferriss Trophy kind of stuff. Akins, a Hinds Community College and Madison Central High product, is just two saves shy of the NAIA single-season saves record, according to the school. The Blazers play a three-game series at Auburn-Montgomery this weekend and then will enter postseason play.

22 Apr

happy hundred

While Mississippi State and Ole Miss are engaged at Trustmark Park in Pearl tonight, Southern Miss will be hooked up in a fairly significant game at Alabama. Not only are the Golden Eagles (24-17) and Crimson Tide (28-12) both playing well, but tonight’s game will be the 100th between the two schools. Alabama leads the series 72-27, but they’ve split the last 10 – and USM won 2-1 in a February game in Hattiesburg. USM, building its postseason resume after a sluggish start, has won 12 of its last 17 games. A win at Sewell-Thomas Stadium would be another nice feather in the cap. The Eagles will throw Cameron Giannini (2-2, 4.44 ERA) at the nationally ranked Tide. Leading the USM attack is Matt Durst, who is batting .301 with four home runs and 31 RBIs. Wonder if anyone in Eagles Nation expected this kind of production from Durst, a 5-foot-10, 229-pound catcher who transferred in from Northeast Texas Community College.